Old Rivalries
by hpmadness
Summary: The intense rivalry between Rose Weasely and Scorpius Malfoy only heats up when they both arrive for an interview for the same coveted post. Both equally qualified, the interviewers decide to set them a series of tasks to conclude once and for all who is better. Can Scorpius charm his way through or will Rose have the last laugh?
1. Perfection?

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine but JKRs. I make no money from this. Only the plot is mine.

ENJOY!

* * *

Rose Weasely had a pretty perfect life.

She was the daughter of two war heroes, giving her a good name and immense respect in the wizarding society. That wasn't all she inherited however, getting her quick wit and thirst for knowledge from Hermione 'the brightest witch of her generation' Weasely nee Granger her mum, and her shock of gorgeous red hair and a knack for breaking rules from Ron Weasely her father.

Her horde of cousins and bucket load of uncles and aunts had given her a well protected, nurtured and nourished childhood, inculcating the best habits and culture, well as best as you can expect from a bunch of Weaselys anyway.

One of her Uncles dealt with dragons, the other was a curse breaker, yet another was in running for Minister of Magic soon, one of them owned the most successful business in the wizarding world, having started it with his twin at the age of 17, and her aunt was a retired International Quidditch player now reporting for the Daily Prophet. Oh and not to forget, Harry 'the boy who lived twice' Potter was her parents' best friend, and her favourite uncle.

Growing up in this family, so varied, so insane, so maddening at times, but still so down to Earth and loving, had indeed given Rose Weasely an ideal childhood. Sure there was intense competition between the cousins at times during the holidays, someone always felt a little left behind, it was but natural in such a huge family. And it was an extreme pain shopping for Christmas presents, and remembering everyone's birthdays. Their over protective nature too got on her nerves at times. But they were still her family at the end of the day, and she loved them to bits.

Rose Weasely was some sort of a Golden girl even in this family of extraordinares.

She was exceptionally brilliant, with a brain to match her mother's. Unlike her mother however she excelled in Quidditch too. Flying was second nature to her, as it was to most of her family, and she played Chaser on the Ravenclaw team. She had gotten her prefect badge as expected in their fifth year, and the Head Girl's honour in the seventh. She had made Quidditch captain too, but had graciously given the post to fellow housemate Georgina Rivers as she couldn't possibly handle so much.

The teachers all adored her, her peers respected her and her juniors pretty much worshipped her.

She was good looking as well, not overly so, but pretty enough to catch the attention of quite a few boys at Hogwarts. She had had her fair share of boyfriends and experiences as well. Not too many because of said over protective family, but a few nonetheless.

She was practical, level headed and mature. Extremely independent and out going. She made friends easily. She was kind, generous and respectful not to mention fun loving and spontaneous. She was a good friend, stable as a rock, someone who would go to any lengths to help you if you needed it. She had played a few pranks too, not one for being a spoilt sport, and had gotten away with it too.

With these charming qualities how could you not love Rose Weasely? Her parents were proud of her, her grandparents showered her with all their love, her uncles and aunts compared their kids to her, singing high praises, her brother like most brothers fought incessantly but loved her all the same, cousins older than her looked out for her, and those younger looked up to her.

Generally loved by all, and spoken high of by everyone, Rose Weasely did have a perfect life.

All except for one thorn constantly at her side, pricking and prodding her every step of the way. He was the exact opposite of her. The black to her white, the arctic to her toasty warm, the Malfoy to her Weasely.

Scorpius 'prat extraordinaire' Malfoy was her rival, in every sense of the word.

From the minute they came face to face they had tried to out do the other.

He was her polar opposite, an anti-Rose if you will, but he matched her word for word, flight for flight. She came out on top most times, being the hard worker that she was, but he was not above using under handed means to get what he felt he deserved, the top honour.

They were much too alike in many ways but they failed to see what to the others was obvious.

He instilled in her the grit and determination, the passion to excel, do one better than him.

She drove him insane with her perfection, giving him reason to show to the world that she was not what they believed, what she portrayed. In his mission to see her down fall he himself rose steadily to the top, being the best he could be to expose her worst.

Unknowingly becoming eachother's incentive and inspiration, they fought hard whether it be on the field or in the classroom. Teachers were both amazed and frightened of this brilliance, the spectacle that was the Rose-Scorpius rivalry.

They had their own set of friends, running in different circles. After all he was Slytherin while she was Ravenclaw, and inter house rivalry was far from eradicated.

For seven years they saw the house cup and quidditch cup travel back and forth between the two houses. If one took the quidditch cup the other was rest assured to win the house cup. They fought for words of praise from the professors, for house points, for the quaffle, for bathroom time while sharing the Heads dorm, for more OWLs, NEWTs, the list would go on and on.

Both were excellent students, having picked up a few spells even before starting Hogwarts they immediately rose to the top of the class.

The insults were kept to a bare minimum in their first year while both were finding their footing.

But as time progressed and the competition grew so did their dislike for the other.

At first only words were thrown about while passing each other in corridors. One day a line was crossed when he dared to utter the dreaded, awful 'm' word. Though not specifically applicable to her Rose took the insult personally, retaliating by calling him a death eater. They were uncalled for, being part of a history they both didn't fully comprehend. But once uttered they couldn't be taken back however remorseful one felt. That had started the hexes and jinxes.

Sometimes they were harmless, sometimes quite lethal.

But brilliant as they were, the two were always quick with their shields, guarding before the enemy had a chance to strike. If at times one of them slipped up the other would gloat in the glory of the others fall. That would set them on course for revenge which would be of a much higher magnitude.

Neither understood how they were sharpening each others skills, how much they had learned from one another by trying to take them out. If only they realized how well they would work as a their time at Hogwarts had come to an end and they went their separate ways, not a glance in the other's direction, quite happy to be rid of one another.

It was assumed that Rose would head to becoming a Healer, dedicated and caring as she was, and that Scorpius would follow his father's footsteps to becoming a businessman.

They were not wrong as that was exactly what happened.

Settled into her role as a Healer, Rose Weasely was now living in an apartment of her own, close to her parent's place as well as the burrow. She had just gotten out of a long relationship with Frank Longbottom and was looking to enjoy her new found status as a single woman.

Despite her initial excitement at her job and what it entailed, now after having climbed the ladder to Head Healer in lightening speed, there was only one word with which Rose and her extensive vocabulary could describe it - boring.

She was bored, there was no other way around it.

It was drab and dull, with absolutely no thinking required anymore. It was run of the mill and it didn't intrigue her as she had hoped it would.

At 22 she expected to have accomplished so much more with her life, and this just wasn't good enough anymore. It was during one of these self reflecting moments that she had the epiphany.

She handed over her resignation the very next day and decided to do something with her life.

To say her family was surprised would be an understatement.

They were downright flabbergasted by her decision and it took her a while to convince them that she knew what she was doing. That was because she had absolutely no clue herself.

For the first time ever her perfect life showed a few cracks. Confused and now not nearly as confident as she had been when she had put in her papers, Rose made an earnest effort to find a job.

She thought that she had found the perfect one when she found an ad in the Prophet.

They were looking for someone as an adviser to the owner of Falcon Enterprises, the biggest company now in the Wizarding and Muggle worlds alike. Started by a young entrepreneur the company had risen in its size and stature in a matter of 10 years. They had expanded their initial line to accomodate all possible Wizarding requirements before moving onto an area yet unexplored by any wizarding enterprise- the muggle markets.

A multinational corporation, at its peak was now looking to hire some fresh blood for their think tank, and Rose Weasely thought herself extremely qualified for the job.

She met all the requirements stated as not many would, and realized it was her chance to do something big, make a difference.

So that's how she found herself on the 42nd floor of the grand Falcon building, in her most formal attire holding her portfolio, waiting for what would be the interview of her life time.

She was slightly nervous but overly excited about the job and its prospects, which is why she found herself extremely annoyed when faced with a smug Scorpius Malfoy, dressed impeccably as ever, holding a portfolio similar to hers.

She raised one shaped eye brow at him before giving him a death glare, hoping to send the message across loud and clear - she was contending him for this post and she was not going down without a fight.

* * *

Oh my, here I go again. I have so many ideas, and this is just one more. I absolutely love the Rose/Scorpius pairing, and this just popped into my head. I still am working on 'The Trial' and 'The Past Revisited Mistakes Revised' so this may take a back seat.

Do let me know if you want me to continue. It will be a short fic, not more than 5-6 chapters, about how the two of them fight it out for the coveted job.

I hope you liked it. Please review!

:)


	2. Attraction with a dose of Denial

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" she asked scathingly.

"I might ask you the exact same thing Weasely." he said, his smirk contorting to a scowl that so frequently graced his features in her presence.

The two stared at each other a long moment, taking in every detail and committing it to memory, it had after all been quite a while since they had met. Four years almost. He seemed to have grown up quite well, she grudgingly admitted to herself. Even back at Hogwarts he had been one of the most sought after males, with his soft platinum hair, quidditch toned body and pearly pale complexion.

He was rumored to be a true charmer as she had heard from her gushing housemates, but she had never succumbed to his slippery smiles or deceiving words. Not that she had ever been on the receiving end of his affections.

After a point the only words they had exchanged were in the form of hexes and not the pleasant ones either. He was scrutinizing her every expression as she was his, and it bugged her to no end that she couldn't know what was running around in his head.

He was handsome; she had to give him that. Especially in his formal trousers and crisp white shirt, minus the Hogwarts robes, he was exceedingly debonair. He held a file similar to her which, she assumed, carried his resume.

Not even in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she would be competing with Scorpius Malfoy for the post.

He had proved to be competent enough time and again, and now here he was again, daring her to better him once more.

She was never one to back down and he knew that exceptionally well.

It had been ages since she had had anything or rather anyone even remotely challenging and she was all set and raring to go. She had thrived on their rivalry at school though she hadn't realized it at that time, and only when they graduated and it was gone did she comprehend its importance.

On one evening soon after her promotion had she realized she missed their fights, their drama.

When she had relayed her discovery to Lily she had just smirked, emulating the boy in question to perfection before brushing it aside saying she actually missed Scorpius and not the hexes he sent her way. To say Rose had gotten mad by her accusation (yes, that's what she considered it) would be an understatement. After that particular conversation, a few dozen apologies on Lily's part and a large quantity of chocolates to pacify her they never spoke of the incident ever again.

She had always felt something missing however, and she stubbornly refused to admit it had anything to do with Scorpius Malfoy.

Having resigned herself to the fact that she would never have anyone else who brought out such a rise in her, she was now quite shocked to find herself in front of him once again.

And pleasantly surprised.

This was exactly what she needed to move on with her life, one last battle with him.

"Like what you see Weasely?" he asked snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hardly." she snorted the same reply she had used since they had been 14. Something at the back of her mind registered that while she had been completely honest all those years at school, now it wasn't exactly true.

Sure she didn't like the man whom she saw, but his looks weren't bad on her eyes at all.

"Then why were you staring?" he asked the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he recollected the familiar conversation.

"I was merely observing how one could look so revolting and still be so obnoxious." she said with a huff, but when she caught sight of his expression she couldn't help but smile as well.

"What are we doing?" she asked softly, confused by his sudden change in demeanor.

She needed him to be mean and aggressive, like he had been in school, not this dashing, slightly sheepish man before her. "I don't know Weasely, you tell me." he said, now a genuine smile on his face.

The expression was so unfamiliar to her that she felt stunned for a second. Before she could reply however a woman came into the lobby, clipboard in hand, and called for them.

"May the best wizard win." He smirked before heading towards the required area in his usual swagger.

* * *

They were ushered into a small waiting room which she supposed led to the Board Room where the interviews were to take place.

Inside, to her surprise, were 4 more candidates, all whom she had never seen before. They all were in their early or mid-twenties too she presumed as her eyes roamed about, taking it all in. There were 3 men and 3 women in total including Malfoy and her.

A quick assessment based just on looks told her they were probably as qualified as she was or perhaps more.

Her mum had always told her never to judge based on first impressions.

But in this case she realized making a good first impression did matter, hence she was decked in her finest blouse and skirt.

She brushed her skirt down to smooth any crease that may have developed, perfection was important to her.

Each candidate was impeccably dressed in their own right. She only hoped her quick tongue and fast wit would give her an edge over the others. And then there was Malfoy. She took the seat that had been left vacant for her and tried calming her jangling nerves. Her encounter with Malfoy hadn't done her much good either.

She could take him on; she knew that, but what of the others?

Anxiety had been a problem for her, but she was good at taking it in her stride and aiming for the starts. So she thought of the look on Malfoy's face when she beat him yet again, and was soon set with renewed determination.

This job was hers, no matter what obstacles they threw her way.

"You will be called in for your interviews now, individually." The lady with the clipboard said.

"Starting with Jason Toby" she said.

One of the men stood, collecting his file before walking in rather nervously to the room adjoining theirs. He came out about 15 minutes later, looking thoroughly shaken. "How did it go?" one of the women asked.

He didn't respond, instead he just collected his belongings and fled the place as fast as his legs could carry him. If the others in the room were disturbed by what they saw they didn't show it.

To Rose however it only meant that there was one less person to beat.

"Scorpius Malfoy." The lady called out.

He stood gracefully as always, and walked with quick long strides towards the door. He caught her eye as he passed and winked once, that Malfoy smirk firm on his face.

She rolled her eyes at him, showing it wasn't appreciated, even as he heart did a little flip.

_Just nerves_ she told herself repeatedly as she struggled to bring her heart rate back to normal minutes after he had disappeared behind the heavy oak doors.

He reappeared a few minutes later, the cocky smile still on his face, his stance as confident as it had been before. He resumed his previous seat, nonchalance oozing from him as he appeared oblivious to the questioning glance of the other candidates.

"Emma Page." The lady announced and the petite young woman to the right of Rose stood. Rose could feel her shaking in her shoes as she fumbled over her own feet twice as she attempted walking to the door. When the door finally shut the remaining 3 turned to Scorpius, their curiosity peaked.

"What did they ask?" the other man asked him.

"Questions…" Scorpius said drily.

"Come on Malfoy you know that's not what he meant." Rose hissed impatiently.

"Tsk Tsk Weasely, resorting to cheating are we? Why am I not surprised?" he said leaning back on his chair and surveying her.

"I am not a cheater Malfoy that would be you." She said affronted by his comment.

"You know each other?" the woman asked.

"Yes"

"Unfortunately"

Scorpius and her answered simultaneously.

"Aww you don't mean that Rosie?" Scorpius said feigning hurt.

"Go jump in a dry well." She muttered, frustrated with him.

He laughed at that, knowing he had won.

"Isabel Rivers" the woman said introducing herself to him. "Scorpius Malfoy" he repeated for her benefit, taking her hand while flashing his 'I-make-girls-swoon' smile. Rose huffed as she saw the woman fall under his spell.

He smirked at her, before turning his attentions to the brunette.

As a result of his attentions the woman was for a lack of better words, a puddle of goo when she was called on next. The woman who walked out to let her pass was worse than before, her hands quivering as she made her way down the hall.

Rose shot him a scathing look before settling into her earlier position.

"You should be thanking me Rose, there's no way she's going to do well now. Her thoughts are now occupied by yours truly." He smirked condescendingly.

Rose turned away from him; her head held high, though she knew what he said was probably true.

There was no conversation for the next 20 minutes and complete silence was observed except for the agonizingly slow, but loud ticking of a clock nearby.

After what seemed an eternity Isabel Rivers walked out, not nearly as flustered at the other two, but skittish all the same.

She seemed to have just one goal in her mind as she headed straight for Scorpius Malfoy, eyes burning bright with desire not wavering from his.

Rose stood as her name was called, glad to leave the room so as not to witness what was going to happen not.

Blood was pounding in her ears, and she felt bile rise in her throat as Isabel, none to discreetly bent low to whisper in his ear, literally falling into his lap. Scorpius was listening with interest, the smirk widening on his face at what Rose assumed were her words. He did however lift his eyes to find Rose's, calling out a 'good luck' as she walked through the doors.

She shut her mind to all thoughts of the Malfoy, reminding herself she had a task to do. She could worry about minute details like why her body had reacted so violently to Malfoy later, for now the interview that lay ahead was top priority. Even as she told herself that however, the picture of Isabel all over Malfoy swam in front of her eyes, and it took her a few moments to regain her staid composure.

_Get it together Weasely_ she berated herself as she stepped through the doors to face what she hoped were her future employers.

* * *

So sorry for the wait! Hope you liked it? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! :)


	3. Charming Competition

It was a panel of four who were seated directly across from her, whom she supposed were the Board of Directors of the company. One of them, easily distinguishable by his signature blond hair and crisp suits was William Falcon, the man himself.

No more than her age when he started the company, he was now the most eligible bachelor and most successful man in their part of the world, and he had only turned 34.

An inspiration to thousands all over the world, Wizarding and Muggle alike, he had been featured on literally every magazine and newspaper there was. Rumors were they were making a muggle film on him too.

To be standing in front of him was a great honor and a little intimidating if she was honest.

"Please have a seat Miss Weasley." He said, smiling at her.

She nodded to them and did as he bid. "Ok, this is my Board, Lawrence, Andrew and Priscilla." He said pointing to each one of them, and they nodded their acknowledgement.

He had such an easy going attitude she felt herself relax almost immediately.

"We are going to ask you a few questions then Miss Weasley." Priscilla said and she nodded, smiling confidently.

"Well, tell us something about yourself." She asked.

And so it began.

It hadn't been as formal as Rose had thought it would be. The panel had been extremely jovial, and it was extremely obvious how close they all were.

The chemistry between Priscilla and William was hard to ignore. It was quite apparent in the way they bickered, but still had such immense respect for the other that there were a lot of unresolved feelings lurking beneath the surface.

They all knew each other well, and worked brilliantly as a team.

And all this Rose could judge from the 15 minutes she had been inside.

She couldn't figure out why the other two had failed so miserably.

This was easy enough.

They had gone through her resume, and marks sheets from Hogwarts.

They had been highly impressed by her progress at St. Mungos as well.

Lawrence had even joked about how she had fared better than Scorpius Malfoy, and that had boosted her ego.

Then they had asked her to perform a few complex charms, which she had pulled off with ease. Priscilla had questioned her on her opinions about current affairs, like the current elections going on for the Minister for Magic, what she thought of the broomstick regulations and about the new age technology coming up in the muggle world. She answered it to the best of her ability, voicing her thoughts as passionately as she used to in school.

They were all smiling at her by the end of the session, so she smiled back, hoping to have nailed this job.

"Thank you Miss Weasley, if you can wait outside we'll announce the results shortly." William said his smile dazzling.

"Thank you Mr. Falcon" she said, nodding to the others as well as she walked out.

She passed the last candidate on her way out and she gave him an encouraging smile.

He managed to grimace in his nervousness and pushed past her to his interview.

She went back to the room to see that Isabel Rivers wasn't making out with Malfoy, but was only sitting next to him, her eyes wide with fascination as he droned on about something. She rolled her eyes at them and took a seat, repeated telling herself that the feeling of relief washing through her body was due to the easy interview and had nothing to do with the blond sitting 3 chairs away.

Suddenly she felt suffocated under his penetrative silver gaze.

She opened her portfolio and became immersed in it, trying to ignore the feeling that she was being watched.

After 10 more minutes of excruciating silence which had only been pierced by Isabel's shrill laugh, the man came out looking as though he had survived a long drawn battle instead of an interview.

She rejoiced inside, knowing she was just 2 candidates away from getting the post.

Well, one of them was Malfoy, but still, she was better than him. And she had proved it on countless occasions.

After a few more moments of tensed anticipation, the doors swung open and the clipboard lady ushered them all into the same office. The Board members all had large smiles on their faces, the biggest one of all on William Falcon's.

The four of them looked at each other nervously, wondering what could probably have them so happy.

William Falcon spoke, immediately getting their unwavering attention.

"Well, I must thank you all for applying for this post, and taking time off to attend this event. Meeting you guys was definitely enriching, and it took us all back a few years. You all are exceptionally bright and have lovely ideas, and it would be brilliant if we could have all of you on board. Unfortunately Priscilla feels that we have only one vacancy." He said, earning him a sharp nudge from the woman in question. He stopped his speech, scowling at her before she nudged him again to carry on.

Rubbing his side inconspicuously, or so he though, he continued again. "Well yes, my colleagues and I have to choose only one, and that has been terribly difficult. We graded you on a few attributes and we have come to a decision." Rose waited with bated breath for his next few words, as did the rest of them.

"Isabel Rivers, Howard Templeton, I'm sorry but you didn't make it." Rose who had been on the edge of a nervous breakdown to hear Isabel's name fall from his lips now composed herself again.

As usual it came down to the two of them. Who would win now?

The two left the room, engulfed in bitter disappointment.

She looked in his direction and caught his eye.

There was amusement sparkling in them as he surveyed her.

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling back at him.

If their interviewers caught their small exchange they didn't say anything.

"Well Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley, it comes down to the two of you. Pri will you do the honors?" William said.

"We couldn't decide, really. Both of you are excellent candidates and absolutely perfect for the job. We see a streak of academic brilliance in you Miss Weasley, and Scorpius we've never seen anyone as organized or charming as you."

Charming! Charming?

Was that even a criterion?

She silently fumed at having tied with him.

And how the hell was he on first name basis with her?

It appalled Rose to think what must have happened during his interview.

Of course he must have unleashed his undoubted charisma and 'charm' on them.

She was so angry she wanted to pull the hairs of his head, strand by strand, and make him watch. But she kept a small smile on her face, trying to cool her head and listen to what they were saying.

"So we decided to hold a little 'competition' you can say, to decide whom to choose. We will assign you three tasks which you must perform, and we will judge who the better candidate for our post is." She said.

Were they kidding?

An actually competition, with Malfoy?

Oh bloody hell.

"Are you up for it?"

"Sure…" "Of course" they answered simultaneously.

She turned her head sideways to face him and he just smirked at her.

"Well you may leave for now. We'll contact you about when your tasks will begin." William Falcon said. The glint in his eyes told her just how much he was enjoying this.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes and smiled politely at all of them, thanking them before stepping out. Malfoy did the same, going as far as gathering Priscilla's hand in his and bringing it up to his lips, like a true 'gentleman' before following her.

Rose caught one look at the redness creeping up on her face and she knew she was going to have to outperform him by miles to gain her approval.

"It's been a pleasure as always Weasley." He told her smugly as they descended the building in the elevator together.

"Pity I can't say the same Malfoy." She spat back. He only chuckled at her infuriated expression.

"_Charming_, really?" she said, curiosity getting the better of her.

He smirked arrogantly as he replied "I can't help my heritage." She snorted at the statement in the most un-lady-like manner.

"Something you apparently don't have." He observed.

She huffed, tapping her high heels in impatience.

She didn't want to be stuck in the confined space of the lift with him any longer.

He was making her highly uncomfortable with all his smiles and his sudden appearance of good looks.

A voice in her head pointed out, annoyingly, once again that he always had been handsome. At this proximity she could even catch a whiff of his expensive cologne and she could swear that the fumes were making her light headed.

Just as the doors slid open to reveal the lobby she warned him, her competitive streak back with a vengeance, "You're going down."

"We'll see who goes where Weasley…" he said vaguely, completely unruffled by her threat and icy glare as he stepped out past the doors, without taking a second glance at her.

She watched him go, her mind reeling.

It was the first time in a long while that she felt so disoriented, all because of a few minutes with one irritating man. She shook herself mentally and just about escaped being squeezed to death by automatic elevator doors as she hurried out into the lobby and out of the building.

* * *

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